Australia Matters for America/America Matters for Australia

5 December 2011

Australia Matters for America/America Matters for Australia is a brochure and website providing up to date information, news and analysis on Australia-US connections. The project launched in Canberra today is a collaboration between the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and the East-West Center* headquartered in Honolulu.

This project is part of the East-West Center's Asia Matters for America initiative, which provides a hub to explore the importance and impact of Asia on the United States and vice versa at the national, state and local level.

Facts about the breadth and depth of Australia-US relations highlighted in the brochure and website include:

Australia and the US have fought side-by-side in every major war since World War I; Australia is the largest non-NATO troop contributor to the war in Afghanistan

8 out of 10 Australians consider the ANZUS alliance very important or fairly important to the country’s security

More than half of Australia’s military equipment has been imported from the US over the past 60 years

Since AUSFTA came into force in 2005, Australia-US trade has increased by almost 50%, totalling $US 46 billion in 2010; America is a top five export destination for five Australian states; Australia is a top ten export destination for 17 American states

Two-way Australia-US investment has more than doubled since 2001; total American investment in Australia totalled $AU 550 billion in 2010, while Australian investment in the US exceeded $AU 400 billion

US foreign direct investment in Australia totalled $US 110 billion in 2009, more than twice as much as FDI from any other country; Australia is the 9th largest source of foreign investment in the US, totalling $US 46 billion in 2009

There are 95,000 Americans with Australian ancestry, while American born Australian residents total 81,000

In 2010, over 900,000 Australians visited the United States and nearly 500,000 Americans visited Australia; the US is the 3rd largest source of foreign visitors to Australia while Australia is the 9th largest source of visitors to the US

In 2009-10, 3,300 Australians were studying in American colleges and universities while 11,100

There are 23 Sister City partnerships linking Australian and American cities including Perth-San Diego, Melbourne-Boston, Darwin-Anchorage and Sydney-San Francisco

The Director of the East -West Center Dr Satu Limaye is in Australia and available for interviews.

*The East-West Center, established by the US Congress in 1960, promotes better relations and understanding among the people and nations of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue.